Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-11-26
IA LADY'S REVOLVER.

= She was too young apparently to bear
rule over the strange assemblage of Mex
lean and half breed boys and girls, with a
sprinkling of American youth, not of the
most trnctable kind, who constituted the
school in the Puente section. The school.
house was almost as rude and unkempt
|Rpking as the scholars. 1t was part
s,fedwood' and part adobe, and no at
tempt had been made to give it a civil
lied appearance. 1t stood upon piece
OF half cleared land which bore crop of
barley, carelessiy reaped by the lazy
anish family who owned it. and whose
.hSpbe hut was the nearest neighbor to the
schoolhouse, at distance of nearly a
third of a mile.
All round this patch of grain land
grew the wild mustard in immense pro-
fusion. Here and there cactus patch
A tlQurished, prickly wilderness. but the
4lfastard was the chief feature of the
foreground, 1t has beauty Of its own
when It's myriad slender branches sway
TO the breeze their golden blooms, and a
desolation of its own when the flowers
'aN verdure are gone, and it spreads in
~ directions miniature forest-dry and
lead.
Beyond the mustard, rocks and bowl
klers began to crop up, which increased
an size and assumed shapes more and
more weird and gaunt as they lay nearer
The mouth of the canyon.
A wilder scene could hardly be i'm
agined. A stranger setting to the picture
gf Stain no clio stood n .f
the schoolhouse, in the shadow of The
Woiecting doorway, watching her last
lolars out of sight
Sc Stella boarded with the Benitos. a de-
cent Spanish family, living on the road
to San Bernardino, about half mile
foath OF the schoolhouse. She knew that
WHEN the children left she ought to go
With them; it was too lonely II place for
ythe young teacher to remain in when all
lWere gone; but, on the other hand. this
|lquiet hour or two We're of such priceless
value to her. 1t was her only time for
thought, for writing undisturbed the
CHEEKY letters which were to brighten
and bless the sick room of poor Tom at
Los Angeles.
foor Tom, her only brother whose
Young life was fading out undsr the
Eight of consumption.
The drklan brother and sister had come
from the city of their birth and love,
tl;eir.far eastern home, in quest of heal
ir4for Tom. Both had been full of hope.
The climate was said to be miracle
working one, and Stella, as strong in
courage as i'll love- never doubted that
In while the healing process was going on,
she would be able with brain or hands,
or both, to support their small establish
ment. But Los Angeles seemed over
crowded with young workers of all kinds,
ard aftSr many efforts and failures to OBJ
Aain remuncrativc work, Stella was
3hankful at last, through the interest of
some school trustees, whom she had be-
" sieged with applications. to obtain this
i school, in all respects the least desirable
il the county; the class of scholars, the
,slnall salary, the situation everything
Walking it so unattractive that some for
\ malties might well be set aside in the
6 matter Of certificates. and teacher in
iintely too good for the place given
charge of the school.
The great drawback was leaving Tom;
the district was some thirty miles from
Los Angeles. and the cost of going there
made large breaches i'll the meager salary
which was to supply the sick lads com
&rts.
When the children were all gone and
The loneliness of the place came upon mel
with that strange thrill, half pleasurable
half dreadful, the sight and touch of hel
little silver mounted revolver was a com
.fort to her. She prayed that she might
never have to use it, but still it lay there
like trusty friend on whom, in posi-
BILE emergency, she might rely.
This afternoon the air was still and
snltry, and the utter silence lay like q
weight upon heG; the dull ugliness of the
sehoolroom, as well as the breathless
heat, oppressed her. After waiting for
" awhile she leaned back and sighed impa.
trently, and presently she gathered III
y ler writing, slipped the little revolver
into her sachcl, tied on her hat, and sci
OFF toward the canyon. Not many hun.
bred yards above the school house q 'livC
oak," or lex, had struck root among the
Ascattered rocks, and finding some bidder
~ rlnlet to nourish it, had spread abroad
its dark branches. and made the on,
Sj)OL OF Sllaut Wllilln ItdCH WHICH th'
mustard was dried up by the scorchin!
z sun.
~ The way seemed longer than usual t
:" Stella. The sun beat down mercilessly
though the afternoon was wearing on
and once she sat down for moment O
!. two under the scanty shade which TIN
mustard, not vet denuded Of its ligh
foliage, afforded.
How black the shadow of the large
solitary tree lay on the rocky ground
Only those who have lived in southern
California or like climate can know tn
. delicious relief Of passing out Of th
burning sunshine into shade which seem
darker and cooler than anywhere else.
The bclated breeze from the distan
xocean sprang up, as if to welcome Stella
Fand a knocking bird suddenly began t
sing with the delirious enjoyment whic
characterizes that unique bird.
. North of the oak tree, some twent
races distant, ran the road toward til
canyon, now s2ldon-if ever used, for I'll